


Withers at Another's Joy

by Mara



Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-23 02:10:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4859126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/pseuds/Mara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chase still has some growing up to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Withers at Another's Joy

**Author's Note:**

> I've forgotten who prompted this. If it was you, please let me know so I can thank you!

It had been a long afternoon of getting the stuffing beaten out of him by his teammates. Chase groaned at the embarrassing memory of how every single one of the other Rangers seemed to be better at fighting than him. Okay, he was a better shot and that was a small comforting thought, but Riley and the new guy were so good with their flashy swords and Shelby had knocked him down so often in hand-to-hand his bruises had bruises.

He was torn. On the one hand, a nap sounded good, but on the other hand, some time on his board would probably improve his mood 1000 percent. A moment of consideration and he grabbed the skateboard, waving casually behind him as the others chorused "goodbye."

The moment he had a clear shot down the sidewalk, he was riding, easily dodging a few pedestrians leaving the museum at closing time. This was the right choice: Chase already felt better as his mind cleared.

There was a real skate park a few miles away and the track a little closer, but right now, proximity was key, so Chase headed to the small park down the street. At this time of day, it would be mostly empty, so he could skate without too much fear of hitting little kids toddling around.

Some indeterminate time later, he slowed, hopping off, his mind calmed.

"This is a…skateboard?"

Chase sighed, turning to the newly familiar voice. "Yeah."

Ivan stood a few feet away, looking wrong without his sword and in the hip modern clothing Shelby had clearly chosen for him. "Lord Tyler spoke of your skateboard. You are most agile."

"Uh, thanks." Ivan's eyes darted to the board and Chase had a sneaking suspicion he knew why. "Did you want to give it a try?"

Ivan's eyes widened. "Yes. May I?"

"Yeah, mate. Why don't you try a basic run to the end there?" Hopping on, Chase pushed off with a foot then simply rode to the end of the sidewalk, carving a turn and skating back.

Chase watched Ivan carefully put one foot on and start forward. For a moment he bobbled, then seemed to find his center. Although Chase had expected him to hop off at the end, Ivan managed a shaky but credible turn that mimicked the one Chase had done moments before.

Chase blinked as he automatically picked up the board and checked the grip tape. "Nice," he said with a smile that felt ridiculously fake. "How about an ollie?" He dropped the board down again, taking off down the sidewalk and kicking his front foot off the board's nose, riding the board into the air and back down.

Ivan had a small frown. "May I see that again?" he called.

Riding back, Chase repeated the ollie north. "It's okay if you don't get it immediately," he said. "It takes some practice."

Ivan thought for a long moment, looking off into the distance. "If you would allow me to attempt it…?" he said eventually, his face clearing.

"It's your arse, mate," Chase said with a shrug, trying not to grin. Newbies always thought they could get everything the first time.

Ivan rode down the sidewalk, much less wobbly, carved a really good turn back, and kicked his foot off the nose in a _damn_ good imitation of Chase. The board only rose a short distance and Ivan barely managed to land back on it, but…it was a hell of a lot better than the first time Chase had tried an ollie.

Ivan stopped himself, looked down at the board, then started up again. His ollie was still low, but much steadier this time. The knight rode back and forth several times, his ollies getting better each time.

When he finally stopped, his smile was so bright it could have powered a morph. "How exhilarating! I can see why this is your mount of choice."

Gut churning, Chase nodded. "Good job. You're, uh, pretty good at that for a beginner."

"I was trained to fight while atop my horse," Ivan said. "Balance comes naturally to me."

"I can see that. Hey, I've got to get back to the museum. I'll…see you later."

"I thank you for your tutelage." Ivan bowed, still smiling.

Was there anything the damn knight couldn't do perfectly? Chase growled to himself as he rode off.

* * *

A morning shift at the café didn't leave Chase with much time to ponder. Which was probably a good thing, since he didn't find his thoughts all that comfortable at the moment.

Unfortunately, after a few hours of Shelby and Kendall telling him what he was doing wrong, and an hour of helping to take down the remainder of the Zandar exhibit, Chase found himself in the lab, slumped on a couch, eyes closed.

He didn't bother to open them when someone settled down next to him. 

"Something wrong?" Koda asked.

Chase didn't really want to answer, but he couldn't find it in himself to be rude. "Nah. Just tired." He managed to open his eyes and fake a smile.

Koda looked unconvinced. "You should ride," he said.

That got a real smile out of Chase. "Thanks, but I think I'm not in the mood today."

Frowning, Koda looked at the skateboard propped against the wall, then back at Chase. "Not in…mood?"

"It won't make me feel better today."

"Why not?"

Chase sighed. He really wanted to blow his teammate off with a flippant answer, but…Koda deserved better. "I'm just whinging to myself a bit."

"Whinging?"

"Never mind." Chase shook his head sharply. "Today I just don't want to look at my skateboard."

"Skateboard did something wrong?"

Chase stifled the laugh that wanted to erupt. "No. I, uh…" He couldn't help it. His gaze shifted to the other side of the cave, where _Sir_ Ivan was looking over Kendall's shoulder and probably, oh, solving math problems for her or something.

"You teach Ivan?"

"Huh?" 

"He ask Tyler."

"Asked him what?"

Patting him on the shoulder, Koda smiled. "He ask him if you can teach. Saw you riding."

"He saw me riding my skateboard? And wanted to learn?"

Koda nodded. "Asked Tyler if okay."

Chase leaned back against the couch again, knowing Koda would let him think. Ivan had sworn allegiance to the Rangers, which meant that, what, he considered Tyler his liege lord now? So he'd gone to his lord for permission to train with another member.

Somehow he'd seen Ivan as trying to show him up, but that wasn't fair. Ivan was a professional in his field, unlike the rest of them. He'd seen a skill that impressed him, decided he wanted to learn it, and gone to the expert. Just because he was so damn good at everything didn't mean he was trying to be a bastard about it. And he hadn't been, except inside Chase's brain.

Chase sighed, then grinned at Koda. "Hey, wanna come along for a lesson too?"

Koda jumped off the couch, smiling broadly. "Yes!"

"Yo, Ivan, wanna learn some more moves?" Chase called as he jogged over to his board.

Ivan looked up with a broad smile. "Certainly!"

Chase turned back to Koda. "Thanks."

Koda dipped his head. "You are welcome." Then he and Ivan were racing their way out of the cave, whooping with laughter.

Chase couldn't help laughing too as he followed them, Kendall calling something after them about being careful. "Sure, Mom," he yelled back, moving fast enough to avoid whatever she threw at him.

This team thing was pretty okay most of the time, he thought.

\--end--


End file.
